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The brown-headed cowbird is nothing short of a nightmare for its hosts: If they eject the brood parasite’s eggs from the nest, it punishes them by destroying their entire clutch. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology in Plön and Harvard University have designed a mathematical model for analyzing the interaction between avian brood parasites and their hosts.

Carbon nanotubes, or tiny hollow cylinders of one-atom-thick carbon sheets, have incredible potential for a wide variety of applications due to their strength, flexibility, and other uniquely powerful properties. They are particularly promising in nanotechnology and electronics applications, but Carnegie Mellon University’s Kris Dahl and Mohammad Islam are on an interdisciplinary mission to put these carbon nanotubes to a new use—in medicine.

Professor Hannes Lohi’s research group at the University of Helsinki has discovered three novel canine genes for Caffey, Raine and van den Ende-Gupta syndromes. Research reveals close similarities of the canine models of human rare disorders and highlights the potential of comparative research approach for the development of rare disease diagnostics and treatments.

Given that the most important societal needs require multidisciplinary collaboration between researchers and decision makers, a suitable environment has to be provided in the first place. A proposal, prepared by a Finnish consortium and published in the open access journal Research Ideas and Outcomes, suggests a new, open virtual work and modeling platform to support evidence-based decision making in a number of areas, while also abiding by the principles of openness, criticism and reuse.

For the first time, the genomes of the giraffe and its closest living relative, the reclusive okapi of the African rainforest, have been sequenced—revealing the first clues about the genetic changes that led to the evolution of the giraffe’s exceptionally long neck and its record-holding ranking as the world’s tallest land species. The research will be published in the scientific journal Nature Communications on May 17, 2016.

Most people might not give telephone metadata – the numbers you dial, the length of your calls – a second thought. Some government officials probably view it as similarly trivial, which is why this information can be obtained without a warrant.

Fido and Spot may not have to cower under the bed this summer when fireworks and thunderstorms hit, thanks to the first prescription veterinary medicine for treating anxiety over loud noises—a widespread problem that causes property destruction, terrified dogs running away and even life-threatening injuries or euthanasia for some.

When you’re paid to sell things, it doesn’t hurt to be able to stretch the truth or prey on people’s emotions once in a while. Most advertisers probably don’t spend too much time thinking about karma, then, but perhaps they should—at least if they want to get better at their jobs.

Physicists and astronomers from the University of Texas at Arlington have used advanced astronomical software to accurately date lyric poet Sappho’s “Midnight Poem,” which describes the night sky over Greece more than 2,500 years ago.

Sharks, skates, and rays can detect very weak electric fields produced by prey and other animals using an array of unusual organs known as the ampullae of Lorenzini. Exactly how these electrosensory organs work has remained a mystery, but a new study has revealed an important clue that may have implications for other fields of research.